Are there efforts today to restore cultural programs?
The Cherokee studies program with which I am working is connected to both the Eastern Band and the Cherokee Nation. The Eastern Band, Western Carolina University, the Cherokee Nation and Northeastern State University in Tahlequah have signed a memorandum of understanding to help and promote Cherokee culture and especially the Cherokee language. Both tribes have programs for that at the universities.
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How many speak the language?
The Eastern Band has only about 300 speakers and 13,000 enrolled members. The Keetoowah Band may be a little bit larger than the Eastern Band, about 14,000, and the Cherokee Nation in Oklahoma has about 300,000 enrolled members. If we put the Cherokee Nation and the Keetoowah Band together, Oklahoma has about 10,000 speakers. There was a time I would say that we had 10,000 speakers. What I was not realizing was that we did not have very many families where both the husband and wife spoke the language. Now both bands have immersion programs for the little children. And they have college classes for college students and classes out in the communities for any adults, so they are working at it throughout the whole range of ages.
How important is it that tribal histories are written?
I think it’s important. I think every tribe ought to have it done. And ideally they should have someone from within the tribe that can do the job. I don’t know if all of them have someone that can do that. The history would really have to begin with the arrival of the Europeans, because nothing was written down before that. Most tribes could begin with some oral traditions and put that down and then move into the actual history.
Some people have said you can’t include oral tradition in a history of a tribe. How do you answer that?
It’s probably not printable. If you’re talking about literature, I’m probably more at home. I would say to people in that area, all literature started that way [orally], otherwise we would not start the study of world literature with Homer or English literature with Beowulf. People are stubborn when it comes to talking about Indians. Years ago I proposed a course in American Indian Literature. [The official in charge] said I couldn’t find enough material. I could find enough material for two semesters of Cherokee Literature.
Tell us about your involvement with Wordcraft Circle.
Joe Bruchac and Geary Harpson were talking about having a big conference for Indian writers. I think Joe got after the money and came up with it. So they contacted every Indian writer they could think of and got the word out and had a huge gathering in Norman on the University of Oklahoma campus. [The late] Lee Francis was there, and Lee cornered me and said he wanted to start an Indian writing program. He was from Laguna Pueblo in New Mexico; he came from a very literary family. He was the power behind it. He would tell us, “You owe this back to the people,” and shame us into helping.
How important is it for Indians to write their own stories?
I’d like to see more of it, but I’m not one of those that say if you are not Indian, you can’t write about Indians, because I don’t want people to tell me I can’t write about white people.
You were born in Oklahoma?
Yes, in Cushing, in about the middle of the state, in the Creek Nation. My father did two things with his life: He sold oil field supplies, and when he got bored with that, he joined the service. He was in and out of the service four times. We lived all over, from Norfolk, Va., to Glendale, Calif.
What’s North Carolina like?
I never had lived here before, but I had been out here a number of times and actually taught a class at Western Carolina. It is like coming home. This is the original Cherokee country. We’re maybe 30 miles from old Keetoowah, the Cherokee Mother Town. They say all Cherokees come out of Keetoowah (Kituwa). We are Anikituwagi.
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